What You Need to Know About the SCASS~HEAP Searchable Database and

What You Need to Know About
the SCASS~HEAP Searchable Database and
Meeting Sex Education Legal Requirements
Local school districts are required to measure and report program impact in sexuality education.
The advisory board shall:
a) Establish program goals and objectives for pupil knowledge and skills that are likely to reduce
the rates of sex, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases; and
c) At least once every 2 years, evaluate, measure, and report the attainment of program goals
and objectives established under subdivision (a). The board of a school district shall make the
resulting report available to parents in the school district. §380.1507(5)
Michigan educators have sought reliable, validated items that can be use in the classroom to
measure student knowledge and skills. Michigan has been part of a national collaborative called
SCASS~HEAP that has developed a large database of items that can be used for classroom
assessment in health education.
1. The assessment items are based on the Health Education Standards and Benchmarks, which
cover what students should KNOW and be able to DO in health education. They have been
piloted with real students and teachers who provided feedback about whether they were clear.
2. The items are divided into three levels:
 Elementary, suitable for fourth, fifth and sixth grades
 Middle school, suitable for seventh and eighth grades
 High school, suitable for ninth through twelfth grades
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The items are arranged into units by content area:
Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention
Community and Environmental Health
Injury and Violence Prevention
Mental Health
Nutrition
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Physical Activity
Personal and Consumer Health
Sexual Health
Tobacco Prevention
4. There is a range of types of items provided for each content area, e.g., multiple choice, short
essay, extended response essay, and tasks or projects.
5. Scoring criteria for items are included.
6. A User’s Guide and other support documents are included. All of the files are in Microsoft
Word, making it easy for teachers to cut and paste items into a format of their own choosing.
7. The database is a useful tool to correlate items to your district’s approved programs.
Correlated items can be used to develop pre- and post-test evaluation instruments to measure
knowledge and skills as required by Michigan school code. The items have already been
correlated to the new high school HIV prevention curriculum, Healthy and Responsible
Relationships.
8. For more information on the SCASS~HEAP database, trainings, and names of people with
database access and training in your district, contact your regional School Health Coordinator,
typically housed in an ISD, or the Michigan Department of Education, Coordinated School
Health & Safety Programs Unit at 517-241-4437.
Last Revised September 12, 2007